THE
P RTAL
February 2013
Regular readers
of T he P ortal will be familiar with
LOGS. No, I don’t mean the big chunks of wood that rural types
sling on a roaring fire at Christmas. I mean the Ladies Ordinariate
Group I first wrote about in T he P ortal a couple of issues back. Now
it’s time to update you.
doubled and trebled in
numbers
The Group has doubled and trebled
in numbers and is going extremely
well: we’ve been meeting in the Parish
Room at Precious Blood Church,
London Bridge, we’ve got a big
project going for children in London
primary schools, we’re in contact with
the local Member of Parliament about
the Government’s (ghastly!) plans to
redefine marriage, we’ve had some
excellent talks at meetings, and we’ve
forged friendships and we’re praying
together and talking and planning
and have all sorts of good things lined
up for the future.
Association of Catholic Women &
Union of Catholic Mothers
We have a very good relationship with the
Association of Catholic Women: in fact at a very early
stage, before the LOGS got going, there was a very
enjoyable tea-party at the home of the ACW chairman,
with delicious cakes and lots of talk, and a tour of the
local church finishing with a prayer together, led by
one of the Ordinariate Sisters.
We have also found warm friendship with the Union
of Catholic Mothers, and will be attending their annual
Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
patrons in Heaven
And we’ve got some patrons in Heaven - at our recent
meeting we decided to have some Patron Saints, and
they are: St Agnes (the South London Ordinariate
group came from St Agnes’ church, Kennington), St
Michael (ditto for the Croydon Ordinariate), Blessed
John Henry Newman, and Blessed John Paul. The last
two reflect our joint heritage: one a former Anglican,
the other a cradle-Catholic.
great Christian women
Reflecting that Anglican heritage, we’ve been having
a series of talks on great Christian women of the
Anglican heritage: Octavia Hill, Josephine Butler,
Lillian Bayliss, Mary Sumner...
Logs
Page 6
na
wri tes
We are aware that there is plenty
of work for us to do. Britain needs
evangelisation, and the object of
the Ordinariate was not to prepare
a cosy place where we might feel
comfortable, but to enable us to live
and work and give witness as Catholic
Christians in full communion with
the worldwide Church, united with the
successor of St Peter in Rome. We are ready
and eager to help with evangelisation projects, and
already there is planning and a sense of energy and
enthusiasm for this.
tough times ahead
There will be plenty of tough times ahead: we are
well aware that the future of LOGS won’t be coffee and
cake and lots of chat. There is work to do and a nation
to evangelise. We’re ready to be part of all that.
Joanna Bogle
A new Catholic Ring of Bells
will ring out over Portsmouth, for the first time
on the Feast of Saint Agatha
Saturday 9th February 2013 at 11am
Solemn High Mass, usus antiquiour
According to the Book of Divine Worship,
the only Ordinariate Rite approved by the Holy See
The Preacher: Fr John Hunwicke
The setting: Haydn - Missa in tempore belli, in C major
(The Newman Consort)
Saint Agatha’s Church is right in the centre of Portsmouth just eight
minutes walk from the Station : there is also ample adjacent parking
From January, a Traditional Latin Mass (E.F.) will be celebrated
regularly, at 11am on Saturdays in Saint Agatha’s
Celebrant: Fr Phillip Harris